Qualitative Multiple Case Study Research Articles

Don’t believe the hype?: Imagined business futures and overpromising for a decarbonized economy

International climate governance is increasingly focusing on the role of the private sector. This article explores how companies translate the narrative of deep decarbonization into their entrepreneurial visions of the future. Based on a qualitative multiple case study, it shows that overpromising is an essential feature of imagined business futures, and identifies three forms of overpromising: contradiction, exaggeration, and commitment. The research article contributes to the emerging field of hype and overpromising by proposing a contextual and nuanced understanding of overpromising. The results illustrate the power of desirable transformation narratives, but also their limitations and side effects.

Hopes and Realities: Local Perspectives on Participation in Community-Based Tourism

Tourism development has been promoted as an alternative major source of income for countries and local communities. This perspective has further underscored local communities as critical stakeholders in tourism development. As such, community-based tourism gained momentum as a viable community participation approach for sustainable tourism development. However, even though community participation is said to be critical in sustainable tourism development, relatively little is known about how locals perceive community-based tourism as an alternative for sustainable livelihood, let alone the kind of local participation expected. The purpose of this article is to determine how the Mmadinare community in Botswana perceives community-based tourism and their own participation. The radical empowerment theory provides a theoretical framework. A qualitative multiple-case study approach using semi-structured interviews and focus groups was applied to gather data. The findings suggest that, in reality, community participation in tourism initiatives remains a challenge attributed to the lack of funding, a lack of capacity building, the limited involvement in decision-making platforms, the low awareness level of tourism development, and an unsuitable policy framework.

ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM OF AGRICULTURAL SOCIAL FRANCHISING

Although the implementation of the social franchising concept is relatively new in agricultural business, examples of successful business stories have recently appeared, especially in the underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa and South America. The aim of the paper is to determine the best examples of entrepreneurial ecosystems of agricultural social franchising by applying a qualitative multiple case study analysis and point out the importance of the implementation of agricultural social franchising in the development of agribusiness in the Republic of Serbia. The experiences of analyzed social agricultural franchises from Kenya, Bangladesh and Nigeria can serve as an example of good practice for the development of social franchising in rural areas in Serbia, with the aim of developing productive agriculture that will lead to economic development. It is very important to enable the development of social agricultural franchising through the Strategy of agriculture and rural development, bearing in mind a number of benefits that can be realized in Serbian agriculture, primarily when it comes to the development of rural areas and the increase in the income and social welfare of farmers.

Dynamic external environment and value creation in small and medium-sized accounting practices: a sensemaking perspective

PurposeThis study aims to explore how small and medium-sized accounting practices (SMPs) make sense of and position themselves against the changing demand for services. It is argued that changing demand for services from pure compliance to advisory acts as a trigger for sensemaking among SMP owners.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multiple case study research approach is adopted, including semistructured interviews with key informants from seven Norwegian SMPs as well as document analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that there is heterogeneity in the small practitioner segment of the accounting profession in making sense of changing demand for the nature of services. Three different situations emerged due to sensemaking, thus, the three distinct positions. Metaphors, namely, chameleons, turtles and bulls, are used to represent the positioning of SMPs. The sensemaking of actors as an adaptation led them to act as chameleons while distancing and resistance resulted in their positioning as turtles, and bulls, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the richness of data indicating a clear variation in interpretation among actors, the study is case based, with a limited number of SMPs, and caution should be exercised when generalising its conclusions.Practical implicationsThe centrality of people as a driving force for positioning among SMPs and diversity among SMPs in value creation provide insights for both SMPs and their customers.Originality/valueThis study highlights the meaning and patterns of value creation and the positioning of accounting firms according to their sensemaking within an under-studied segment of the accounting profession.

A Multiple Case Study of the Motivational Effects of a High-Stakes Examination

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study is to understand whether success on the High School Entrance Examination (HSEE) has a motivational effect on subsequent high-stakes exams by viewing it from the perspective of the High Performance Cycle Model (HPC). 
 Design/Methodology/Approach: Two rounds of interviews were conducted with eight dyads, each consisting of an eighth-grade student and a parent. The first interview took place approximately two months before the HSEE exam and the second approximately six months after the exam. Interview data were subjected to matrix analysis.
 Findings: The research results show that consistent with the assumption of the HPC model, three participating students who scored highest on the HSEE expressed a desire to begin preparing for the university exam because they experienced an increase in their self-efficacy. It can be concluded that, consistent with the assumptions of the HPC model, a high score on the HSEE may provide students with self-renewing test motivation.
 Highlights: Based on the findings, it is recommended that students be given behavioral and learning goals rather than performance goals, and the HPC model should be used for students' holistic development so that they can demonstrate their potential.

Entrepreneurial culture and disruptive innovation in established firms – how to handle ambidexterity

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to improve the understanding of strategies for how established companies can respond to disruptive innovation, handle increasing complexity, facilitate entrepreneurial culture and processes and successfully manage organizational ambidexterity.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multiple-case study was conducted to explore successful practices of innovation ambidexterity (IA) and their organizational design, entrepreneurial culture and mindset, processes and leadership. Two internationally established firms that have launched and established IA programs provided deep insight, revealing their strategy and learning on the path toward effective IA.FindingsThe findings show that accepting and managing the inherent complexity increases within an ambidextrous organization strategy is a decisive factor in achieving effective IA. As a result, segmenting small organizational units and granting them extensive autonomy is proposed for managing the complexity of an organization while increasing its effectiveness. Furthermore, it is shown that this helps foster entrepreneurial culture, mindsets and processes as additional mediators for achieving effective IA. Coaching, empowerment and trust were identified as key factors of ambidextrous leadership values that encourage entrepreneurial behavior and decision-making.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors knowledge the first study connecting the research fields of complexity management, organizational ambidexterity theory and entrepreneurial culture while applying the fundamentals of systems theory to propose a practical management framework for successfully responding to disruptive innovation.

How do on-site teacher educators approach professional development? A study of insider/outsider hybridity

ABSTRACT In-service professional development is important for improving teaching. However, little research has examined how the roles, beliefs, and backgrounds of the individuals providing professional development can best be leveraged to create effective professional development programmes. A particularly understudied group are community-based On-Site Teacher Educators (OSTEs) who can serve as the bridge between university-based faculty and school employees. OSTEs are aware of the realities of classroom spaces, yet work outside of them, giving them a hybrid capacity to support teacher learning. In this exploratory qualitative multiple case study, the perspectives and practices of three OSTEs are examined as they supported elementary science teachers (n = 119) in multi-year professional development. Findings indicate that OSTEs have strong alignment between their professional development practices and their beliefs about knowledge and learning. OSTEs revealed that they are introspective about managing the gap between university faculty and classroom teachers. Cross-case analysis revealed that OSTEs identify a tension between affirming teachers as professionals and productively challenging teachers’ assumptions. To address this, they use modelling, co-teaching, and dialogue inside a stance of teaching as intellectual work. In sum, this research suggests that professional development provided by OSTEs can lead to transformative change in schools.

Transferring people with dementia to severe challenging behavior specialized units, an in-depth exploration

Objectives One of the main reasons for people with dementia to move to a dementia special care unit of a nursing home is challenging behavior. This behavior is often difficult to manage, and in the Netherlands, residents are sometimes relocated to a severe challenging behavior specialized unit. However, relocation often comes with trauma and should be prevented if possible. This study aimed to investigate the patient- and context-related reasons for these relocations. Methods Qualitative multiple case study using individual (n = 15) and focus group interviews (n = 4 with n = 20 participants) were held with elderly care physicians, physician assistants, psychologists, nursing staff members, and relatives involved with people with dementia and severe challenging behavior who had been transferred to a severe challenging behavior specialized unit. Audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed with thematic analysis, including directed content analysis. Results After five cases, data-saturation occurred. The thematic analysis identified three main processes: increasing severity of challenging behavior, increasing realization that the clients’ needs cannot be met, and an increasing burden of nursing staff. The interaction between these processes, triggered mainly by a life-threatening situation, led to nursing staff reaching their limits, resulting in relocation of the client. Conclusion Our study resulted in a conceptual framework providing insight into reasons for relocation in cases of severe challenging behavior. To prevent relocation, the increasing severity of challenging behavior, increasing burden on nursing staff, and increasing realization that the clients’ needs cannot be met need attention.

The Effectual Design Method for Internationalizing Architectural and Engineering Services: Insights from Swiss Design Entrepreneurs

This research explores the use of effectual and causal design logic in architectural and engineering design internationalization. Specifically, it aims to understand how individual design entrepreneurs act across three international opportunity design problem spaces: (a) formation, (b) evaluation, and (c) exploitation. This qualitative multiple-case study employed phenomenographic, semi-structured interviews with 17 Swiss architectural and engineering design entrepreneurs.
 The findings indicate that international opportunity formation is created via the dominant effectual design logic principle; international opportunity evaluation mainly applies causal design logic; and international opportunity exploitation primarily uses actions combining effectual and causal design logic principles. This research contributes to the architectural and engineering design internationalization literature, which focuses only on causal design logic and provides a practical integrative model for successful international architectural and engineering design services.

EFL Teachers’ Cognitions and Practices in Grammar Teaching: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study from Niger

EFL Teachers’ Cognitions and Practices in Grammar Teaching: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study from Niger

The relative significance of behavioural finance factors in the investment decisions of Australasian REITs

PurposeReferring to “behavioural finance” and “normative model” theories, this study explores the relative significance of behavioural heuristic biases in the investment decisions of real estate investment trusts (REITs) when compared with the conventional normative decision factors, with an ultimate aim to identify the significant behavioural factors that should be avoided to ensure rational asset acquisitions and market efficiency.Design/methodology/approachA triangulation approach was adopted. Qualitative multiple case studies were conducted, with four cases selected from Australian and New Zealand REITs across the industry, to identify what normative and behavioural finance factors are involved in investment decisions. This formed the basis for the subsequent expert review survey to explore how significant the behavioural factors were manifested in the judgement when compared with the normative factors.FindingsThree out of four theoretical behavioural factors manifested themselves in the investment decisions: investor sentiment, anchoring factors and overconfidence. The overall impact of these three behavioural factors was that they were as significant as normative factors in investment decisions. The heuristic availability of information was found to have no significant effect on experienced REIT fund managers.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings were based on four multiple cases and an expert review survey of six frontline fund managers, which form a baseline upon which further research can be conducted to widen the scope of research to cover all REITs in Australasia so that the results can become more robust to benefit the entire market in the region.Practical implicationsAs behavioural factors are significant in the decision-making process, REIT fund managers should raise awareness to avoid the significant behavioural factors identified, in particular investor sentiment, which was found to be the most significant one.Originality/valueThis study confirms the relative significance of behavioural factors in property investment decisions within the context of Australasian REITs and alerts fund managers to the ways they should follow to ensure rational investments and market efficiency. It also extends the scale of existing studies to cover not only Australia but also New Zealand for the benefit of the entire Australasian market.

Proposal for a global mindset framework: Analysis in hospitality companies

This study aims to propose a global mindset (GM) framework that boosts International Entrepreneurship (IE) when facing disasters. This is a qualitative multiple-case study, documents and transcripts of semi-structured interviews are analyzed using the ATLAS.ti software. As a result, it is evident that the oil spill and covid-19 disasters influenced technology and the generation of opportunities. Despite being similar in all companies, the intensification of communication via social networks was more frequently applied during both disasters by Hotel-A, Hotel-B and Inn-C. Finally, GM's networking was a key factor in IE. It is perceived as a common aspect in the four establishments, being an influencing element to the IE, and that the analyzed organizations used digital networks as a differentiator when facing the oil and covid-19 disasters. Therefore, digital networks influenced IE and promoted changes that are reflected in organizations’ behaviors.

Critical Social Inclusion of Adult Migrant Language Learners in Working Life: Experiences From SFI and LINC Programs

How can integration education programs facilitate the more seamless inclusion of migrant newcomers into working life and civil society? Traditionally, integration policy and practice have been framed within a nation‐state discourse in which views of migrant incorporation are grounded within a bordered nationalism embodying a native–migrant dichotomy that reifies the view of the “migrant other” as a subject defined by its “lack” in competence and agency. In our qualitative multiple case study, we explored the bridging potential of integration programs in facilitating the inclusion of migrant students within working life in Helsinki and Edmonton. We examined the “inclusectionalities,” referring to the intersections of inclusion and exclusion that position adults enrolled in SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) and LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) language integration programs in the liminal spaces between belonging and othering. Guided by an understanding of critical social inclusion where migrants set the boundaries for interactions with authorities based upon their own needs and interests, we propose a transformational approach. Here migrant learners participate in a structural process where the fluid nature of social, political, and economic arrangements is consistently renegotiated on principles of egalitarianism and the full exercise of critical agency, herein envisioned as deliberate action resisting the social domination of racialized minorities by challenging and redefining institutional structures.

Road Maintenance Challenges: The Greatest Obstacle to Sustainable Development in South Sudan

Road infrastructure plays a crucial role in the sustainable development of any nation. It connects communities, facilitates trade, and enables essential service delivery. However, road maintenance is one of the most significant challenges hindering sustainable development in South Sudan. The poor roads hinder economic growth, access to essential services, and social cohesion and are in dire need of repair and upkeep. Thus, I developed this qualitative multiple-case study to explore challenges that hinder road maintenance in South Sudan. I collected data through document review and semi-structured interviews with four road engineers, and then thematically analyzed the gathered data. Three themes emerged as the most significant challenges facing road maintenance in South Sudan: a lack of functional road maintenance institutions, a lack of legal framework supporting road maintenance, and a lack of dedicated funds for the maintenance of roads. Key recommendations include making road construction and maintenance institutions function, establishing legal frameworks to support road construction and maintenance in the country, and establishing a Road Fund agency to provide the necessary resources to support road construction and maintenance in the country. The implications for positive social change include facilitating access to essential services such as education, healthcare, employment, and economic prosperity.

Exploring the physical–digital interface in blockchain applications: Insights from the luxury watch industry

Counterfeit products are an increasing issue across the luxury sector. Blockchain applications exhibit the potential to mitigate counterfeit risks and facilitate the growing secondary markets by enabling product authentication and digital proof of ownership. In this study, we adopt a qualitative multiple-case study design and conduct interviews with informants from four blockchain projects in the Swiss luxury watch industry. We identify the industry-specific drivers and barriers to blockchain adoption and specifically explore the challenges at the physical–digital interface. Beyond an in-depth description of the problems, our findings suggest two main data management hurdles related to the validity of input data and data synchronicity. The main challenge, however, is to establish an unequivocal link between the physical watch to its digital record on the blockchain. We present several invasive and non-invasive linking approaches and discuss their potential advantages and disadvantages. Further, we outline different areas for future research. Overall, our study addresses a timely issue of blockchain applications, contributing to the operations and supply chain management literature and supporting blockchain use case design in practice.

Archival Silences within the National Archival Documentary Heritage Institutions of Botswana

The study is an interpretive qualitative multiple case study, which examined archival representation of social groups in five selected heritage institutions in Botswana. Purposive sampling was used to select study participants. Data collection for the study was through semistructured interviews, non-participatory observations and document analysis. The findings indicate that archival representation of social groups is still at infancy stage in Botswana, as a result of poor interpretation and implementation of the National Archives and Records Services of 1978, (amended in 2007); lack of updated policies that inform practice and limited resources to do archival processes. The contents of the archival collection revealed a male, ethnic based, linguistic oriented and ruling party inclined image with underrepresented groups consisting of people with disabilities, the poor and women. For under-documented groups, the LGBTQ+ community, people living along borderlines and refugees come out. The causes for silences in the archival collections is attributed to discriminatory sections of the constitution, lack of reflexivity on the part of the archival institutions, mistrust of mainstream heritage institutions by communities and failure to survive time by indigenous culture which is mainly oral to name but a few. Consequently, the study recommends an acquisition and management model based on stewardship and a national archival system, that can ensure the documentation of a socially representative archival heritage.

Developing a business intelligence tool for sustainability management

PurposeBusiness intelligence (BI) is a combination of computer systems and managerial processes to support decision-making. The balanced scorecard is a kind of business intelligence tool for performance measurement and management control aimed at balancing financial and non-financial as well as short- and long-term measures. The sustainable balanced scorecard is a modification of the original balanced scorecard developed to expressly consider governance, social, environmental and ethical issues, and therefore to allow sustainability concepts to be included within the strategy and the management of the organization. However, although the sustainable balanced scorecard is one of the most suitable tools for integrating sustainability within management, there are few examples of how to develop and implement it which can be used as reference models. To help solve this problem, this paper proposes a methodology for the development of a sustainable balanced scorecard, considering different phases such as planification, analysis, design or computer tool implementation, and describes the findings of three case studies.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted using the qualitative multiple-case study method. This made it possible to establish the methodological issues regarding the performance and reporting of this study. Therefore, the research method for the conceptualization and execution of the case studies was divided into seven phases: definition of research goals and questions; proposed theoretical model; identification of units of analysis; case selection; definition of research methods and resources; fieldwork; data collection, classification of information and triangulation; formulation of the enhanced theory, model or methodology; and verification of the rigour and quality of the study.FindingsPaper shows a methodology organized in phases, activities and tasks that allow a sustainable balanced scorecard to be planned, designed, built, computerized and controlled in order to integrate sustainability within the management systems of organizations.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the currently emerging sustainable balanced scorecard literature and practice and, more generally, to research on sustainability measurement and management. The methodology for sustainable balanced scorecard development and implementation showed in this paper contributes to the management and information systems theory because it makes it possible to overcome the shortcomings identified to date: it considers all the sustainability dimensions; it describes all the project life-cycle activities; it encourages stakeholders' participation; and it has been proved to work in real situations.

The açaí supply chain: a Brazilian case study on the main risks of fruit growing.

Agribusiness is a thriving sector of the world and Brazilian economy. But despite its constant growth, the Brazilian fruit-growing supply chain, and in particular the one in Pará through the açaí fruit, faces interruption challenges due to the high perishability of the fruit. This article develops a framework with the main risks of interruption in the fruit-growing supply chain, based on a survey of managers in the state of Pará, the world's largest producer of açaí, who work in the cultivation, harvesting, production and marketing of the fruit. This is a qualitative study of multiple cases, consisting of semi-structured interviews, the results of which showed that the açaí supply chain is highly susceptible to interruption, since of the 13 risks mapped, only 2 are not applicable to the açaí chain. Despite the vulnerability of the açaí supply chain, managers do not use any risk management methods or processes.

The effect of Chinese vaccine diplomacy during COVID-19 in the Philippines and Vietnam: a multiple case study from a soft power perspective

Vaccine diplomacy is a subset of global health diplomacy and refers to the use and delivery of vaccines to achieve a country’s global health goals and foreign policy objectives. Countries have used vaccine diplomacy to increase their soft power during the COVID-19 pandemic. China, an emerging world power, was no exception in this trend. By December 2022, China had dispatched 1.65 billion vaccines worldwide; approximately one-third of the Chinese vaccines were sent to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. China attempted to increase its soft power via vaccine diplomacy to appeal to its neighbours with which it has long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). Focusing on two key claimants in the SCS, our study has the following research question: How effective was Chinese COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy in the Philippines and Vietnam from a soft power perspective? Through a qualitative multiple case study research design, we determined the effectiveness of Chinese vaccine diplomacy in the Philippines and Vietnam by using four indicators of soft power: public opinion, foreign policy, attractiveness, and business and trade. Data collection consisted of a literature search of academic literature and newspaper articles that were published between 26 May and 13 June 2022. A thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the data. Analysing the effectiveness of Chinese vaccine diplomacy based on the four indicators of soft power, our results show that only the indicators of attractiveness in Vietnam and business and trade in the Philippines have somewhat improved. In contrast, the indicators of public opinion and foreign policy showed neutral or negative results for China. This study concludes that Chinese vaccine diplomacy in the Philippines and Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic was unsuccessful from a soft power perspective. One reason is that China undermined its soft power approach by simultaneously using hard power tactics in Southeast Asia. Using vaccine diplomacy to increase soft power is not always desirable from a global health perspective. Instead, countries should focus on equitable vaccine access and address asymmetrical power relations.

Digitalisation for survival: managing resources in digitalizing operations and processes in the fashion industry

Digital transformation of the downstream supply chain is not simply a matter of technology; it requires the development of specific processes, competencies, and assets. The fashion industry has experienced significant disruption due to the digitalisation of business over the past 15 years. This paper explores how firms in the fashion context respond with innovative solutions to procure and use specific resources to develop successful digital sales channels. The results of our qualitative multiple case study approach, which employs an abductive approach and is in line with resource advantage theory, enable us to identify a specific digital resource category and its four foundations: technology, competency, policies, and control.